More than 195 million results come up when you search for WordPress hosting in Google. So, it’s understandable that cherry picking the package that’s right for you can sometimes feel overwhelming.

The good news is, these results can be whittled down quite quickly.

Ensure your hosting provider ticks the following nine boxes and you can’t go far wrong…

WordPress preinstalled: there’s no need to waste time unzipping WordPress, creating a database, setting up privileges and so on. The best WordPress hosting packages come with WordPress preinstalled, so you can start using it in a single click.

Automatic updates: according to WPBeginner 86 per cent of WordPress websites are hacked due to an outdated WordPress install, plugin or theme.

So, it’s essential to keep on top of updates. Of course, we’re all only human so it can be easy to put off or forget about updates altogether.

To make life easier for yourself, choose a hosting provider that takes care of the updates for you.

Automatic backups: Let’s face it, remembering to backup your WordPress site is a chore.

However, just like updates, it’s an essential task.

Save yourself one less headache by choosing a hosting provider who will take the chore off your hands.

With Heart Internet’s WordPress hosting, backups are taken daily and kept for 90 days. Should anything go awry with your site, you can restore it – or part of it – in a single click.

Support: There are multiple ways you can take the measure of a hosting company’s support team.

Firstly, take a look at reviews. For example, on TrustPilot, Heart Internet’s support team are described as ‘fantastic’, ‘impressive’, ‘prompt’, ‘accurate’ and even ‘awesome’.

Secondly, check out their hours of operation. You’ll want to be sure you can reach out to the team around the clock. For even more in the way of convenience, you’ll want to choose a company that offers live chat.

When you’re buying a WordPress package specifically, you’ll also want to ensure that the support team has WordPress experts onboard – like at the Heart Internet.

Security: With almost half of businesses in the UK experiencing cyber security breaches or attacks every year, online security has never been so important.

So, look for a WordPress hosting company that takes security seriously, too.

When you buy WordPress hosting from Heart Internet you get daily malware scans included. The scans are performed via the automatically installed Sucuri plugin.

This plugin checks for everything from malware, blacklisting and vulnerabilities.

Freebies: WordPress hosting is a competitive marketplace, so the best hosts offer a little bit more in their packages.

Heart Internet, for example, offers the following..

Access to a collection of free bespoke themes: can’t find a theme you like in WordPress’s free library? Heart Internet’s WordPress hosting plans give you access to a collection of additional themes, designed for a range of industries and purposes.

Free domain name: Heart Internet’s WordPress hosting bundles make running a website a little bit more affordable by including a domain name free for the first year.

Business Email: free for the first year.

Yoast SEO optimiser: free with the Deluxe and Ultimate packages, Yoast is the leading SEO plugin available for WordPress.

Variety of plans: There’s no one size fits all when it comes to WordPress hosting. Every customer will have different needs. If your hosting provider offers a selection of plans, it’s a good sign that it understands this.

Heart Internet offers three different single site plans – the Basic, the Deluxe and the Ultimate. The Basic is a great option if you’re just getting started with a blog or a simple website and the Ultimate is a good choice if you need to run a site that attracts heavy traffic.

Heart Internet also offers a range of plans for professionals that need to work on multiple sites at the same time. There are four packages to choose from here with the power to run up to 50 websites.

Speed: A one second delay in page load speed can decrease conversions by as much as seven percent, so it’s vital your WordPress hosting is fast.

Heart Internet ensures speed and efficiency through features like SSD storage and a content delivery network with a custom-made caching solution.

On top of that, Heart Internet’s plans come with a website performance analysis tool, which gives you insights into any factors that could be impeding your site’s performance. It takes into account everything from image size to text compression to help you understand how to speed up your site.

Want to find out more about WordPress hosting at Heart Internet?

Simply visit our WordPress hosting pages, where you can read the full technical specifications and discover the affordable prices.